In 2007 the Skateistan project began in the streets of Kabul, introducing skateboarding to girls and boys in Afghanistan for the first time. Since then, Skateistan has offered skateboarding lessons paired with educational programs to thousands of Afghan children.

After many months of hard work, Skateistan and the Afghan National Olympic Committee (ANOC) will host the Opening Ceremony of a new, state-of-the-art skateboarding and education facility in Mazar-e-Sharif (MeS), Northern Afghanistan. Following the success of Skateistan’s flagship project in Kabul, the MeS facility will be nearly three times the size and will be able to accommodate up to 1000 regular students (ages 5-17) for sports, arts-based education, ‘Back-to-School’ programming, and skills training workshops.

The event will include skateboarding demonstrations by Afghanistan’s best male, female and disabled skateboarders, an art/photo exhibition of Skateistan student accomplishments, short films, and an official ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“A few years ago I wasn’t sure that it would be possible to open the first skatepark in Afghanistan, but now the success of the project in Kabul has given Skateistan the momentum and support to open a second facility for Afghan youth, and one that’s even more ambitious than the first,” says Skateistan’s founder and Executive Director Oliver Percovich.